


One Year Later, The Nano-bot Girls: a study of what goes on in Connor's mind

by Parallel_Deviation



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Post-Canon, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28882353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parallel_Deviation/pseuds/Parallel_Deviation
Summary: Hank and Connor are worn out interviewing anyone they can find who makes a new type of technology that a criminal may be using to kill androids. Investigating this way has left them both irritable with each other, but having no other choice they keep at it.  Connor, doing most of the research so Hank can get some sleep, comes across a very interesting possibility, and spends too much time on social media while he's investigating it. When arriving at ChemoTech to interview the leads, he finds himself alone with the one he's crushing on and woefully unprepared for interviewing her.Connor paused, swallowing an uncomfortable lump in his throat. Hank leaned on the car and looked at him critically.“What’s with you?”“Nothing!” Connor exclaimed, shaking his head. He didn’t need to tell Hank everything.  Especially things that make no since to him, like developing what Hank would call a “crush” on a woman he never met and saw only photos of online, and maybe checked her social media, just to see who she spent her time with, or didn’t spend her time with. It seemed to be her dog, which he found charming.“Connor!”  Hank was snapping his fingers at him.  “Focus, ok?”
Relationships: Connor (Detroit: Become Human)/Original Female Character(s), Hank Anderson/Connor
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	One Year Later, The Nano-bot Girls: a study of what goes on in Connor's mind

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [One Year Later](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28780947) by [Parallel_Deviation](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parallel_Deviation/pseuds/Parallel_Deviation). 



> Its 2039, about a year after a peaceful revolution. This is a re-write of "One Year Later, chapter 1" from Connor's perspective. For me, it's very challenging to write from anyone's perspective other than my own, even if they're human, so I wanted to see if I could get inside his head. Mixed results, I think.

Hank groaned in frustration as he pulled into the parking lot. Connor looked at Hanks coffee cup and cursed himself for not ordering an extra one. 

“I got to tell you Connor, I don’t know how many more of these interviews I can take.” Connor looked at him with confusion. 

“This theory is just as sound as the others, and we wouldn’t have eliminated them without the interviews.” Seemed simple enough to him. Hank looked over in frustration. 

“How can forensics have, nothing, absolutely nothing, for us to go on? They can’t even find a poison!” Conner signed in resignation to Hanks annoyance, when Hank wanted to be cranky there was no stopping him. Humans were bizarre in that way. 

“Alright, let’s get this one over with. Did you look them up?” Connor nodded, uncomfortably, deciding to focus his response on the older one. 

“Dr. Elizbeth Theodora Martin, 54, nanobot innovator, first to harness nanobots to combat tumors. Highly endorsed by the American Cancer Society, multiple patents and publications. Married to husband Joshua Martin, for 10 years, two kids, one son, one daughter...” 

Hank interrupted him. “And the other one?” Connor took a quick breath trying to not reveal the “other one” was much more interesting to him. 

“Bridget Miranda Hughes, 38, Master’s in A.I. Programming and Robotics Engineering from Wayne State University, Detroit. Undergrad in Bio-chemistry, Minors Oncology and Robotics from University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Patent for Nanobot screening technology, published in Frontiers of Oncology for the same. No mention of husband or children.” Connor stopped, swallowing an uncomfortable lump in his throat. Hank leaned on the car and looked at him critically. 

“What’s with you?” 

“Nothing!” Connor exclaimed, shaking his head. He didn’t need to tell Hank everything. Especially things that make no since to him, like developing what Hank would call a “crush” on a woman he never met and saw only photos of online, and maybe checked her social media, just to see who she spent her time with, or didn’t spend her time with. It seemed to be her dog, which Connor found charming. 

“Connor!” Hank was snapping his fingers at him. “Focus, ok?” He walked toward the building shaking his head. 

“Fucking automation kiosk.” Grumbled Hank, as they logged their names and were let into the building to meet with Dr. Liz. Connor looked around absently, wondering where the other one was. He discretely performed a scan of the lobby and attached rooms, covering it with rolling his quarter over his knuckles. 

So, it was only the two of them here today. The other one, Bridget, seemed permanently hiding in her office and unlikely to appear unless summoned. Hank and Dr. Liz started to move. Connor, before following, glanced over into Bridget's office where he caught her eyes for a few seconds. He smiled and waved to her before she looked away and rubbed her forehead. Smiling, he caught up with Hank. 

“Hey Liz,” Hank said without much preamble, “We’re here because we need to know if your nanobots could be used to dispense a poison to androids, and if that would be traceable in blueblood.” 

Dr. Liz looked very concerned. “It’s possible, they’ll carry whatever we put in them, and dispense when programmed. But I don’t see how a substance as complicated as a blueblood poison would be undetectable.” 

“Would you be able to program them in the blood, change their orders?” Connor asked quickly. Dr. Liz shook her head. 

“You can’t alter them once they are built.” Hank suspiciously looked at Connor, who met blankly met his stare. He was going to figure out a way to bring Bridget into the conversation, somehow. 

Connor continued “Can you detect the nanobot contents directly?”. Dr Liz again shook her head, slightly amused. 

“Not in the body, you need to take a blood sample and analyze it externally. Bridget is the expert on that.” She nodded across the lobby. 

“What about screening?” Connor asked. “Could they be screened out without releasing the poison?” 

Dr. Liz and Hank looked at him. 

“Probably.” Dr. Liz said. “But wouldn’t you need to detect them first?” She looked at Hank, who was surprised. 

“Come on Hank, you wouldn’t be here if forensics found anything.” Hank shrugged. He looked over at Connor, who met his stare. 

“Connor, why don’t you go see what Bridget can do about capturing nanobots.” Connor blinked a few times in confusion. 

“Connor, just go talk to the girl.” He swallowed uncomfortably, nodded at Hank and Dr. Liz, then left the room as Dr. Liz and Hank smiled at each other. 

“Kids these days.” Muttered Hank, shaking his head. 

Connor straightened his tie and walked to the office across the lobby. He stood in the door to her office for a moment, not sure how to proceed. She was leaning on her hand, glancing between windows on her screen, oblivious to him. He watched as she bit her lip, crinkled her brow, and lazily type ‘???’ Into a notification box. Feeling invasive, he quickly cleared his throat and knocked on the door frame. Suddenly, Bridget accidentally slammed her hand into desk and quickly stood up. Connor tried to hid his amusement but she was just so beautiful when embarrassed. 

“Wow,” Connor thought, keeping his face carefully neutral, “she’s even more stunning close up.” She removed her earbuds and tied her beautiful dark hair back, then said something and extended her hand. He quickly scanned her to replay her words, trying to not notice her accelerated heart rate and dilated pupils. He had hoped he didn’t startle her too much. 

“Hi, I’m Detective Connor Anderson with the DPD. It’s very nice to meet you!” He took her outstretched hand and held it. 

“I didn’t want to bother you if you were busy.” He managed to say without stammering, a huge accomplishment so far as he was concerned. 

“It’s no bother, I’m not….” She answered while looking around him but then returned his gaze and waved her hand toward the couch by her door and let go of his hand, pulling out of his grasp. She went to check her tablet, quickly deleting something and putting it back on her desk. 

She sat down next to him and straightened her back. “How can I help you, Connor?” Connor watched her, completely entranced. He had to come up with a conversation, but nothing came to mind. Quickly, he glanced at her desk for help. 

“I see you have a dog. I like dogs. What’s your dog's name?” He kept his face calm while thinking, “Do better, Connor.” She squinted slightly at him. 

“Her name is Holly. She’s a Pomeranian. Do you have any pets?” Connor nudged himself internally again, to stop staring at her. 

“Hank has a dog, Sumo. We’re roommates, he offered me a spare room after the revolution.” He inwardly groaned in embarrassment. “Why would you tell her that, she didn’t ask.” Bridget’s attitude softened too tolerant, maybe warm. 

“That was kind of him. I’ve never had a roommate, except for the dog.” She said, shrugging slightly. 

Connor watched as she looked softly at him and smiled a bit, unconsciously rubbing the back of her neck, noticing her eyes were not brown, but an unusual dark green. He’s never seen that color before. It was something people would never notice, unless she let them get close, as he was. And her hair, though artificially straight, kept trying to go back its natual curl. He could tell she didn’t use hair color, that her dark strawberry brown, was completely natural and had a few grays streaking though it, making her completely no-nonsense, in a sexy way. He was interrupted when she rapidly blinked a few times and cleared her throat. 

“I have a training presentation I can show you, unless you would rather download it?” She asked, licking her lower lip. Connor found that completely endearing. He had to come up with a response, quickly. 

“No, I prefer to use my senses in a more human manner whenever possible. Please, explain it to me.” She looked at him, slightly amused, but hid it well as she got up from the couch and retrieved her tablet. She discretely looked out her door towards Dr. Liz office, then returned to sit next to him. 

“How much do you know about nanobots and screening technology?” He smiled internally at how she asked effectively the same question as before, deciding not to point it out. 

“I haven’t downloaded any information yet, on Hank’s advice. He recommended we discuss the technology beforehand.” He just as quickly cringed at how robotic his response was. 

“If you have any questions after you download, I’m here to help.” She gave him friendly nod and continued, Connor getting lost in her words. 

“Here is an example of Dr. Liz’s finished nanobot with its embedded chemotherapy. We’re the first company to get FDA approval to deliver chemotherapy using nanobots. The nanobots are introduced to the blood stream via IV. Once released they float in the bloodstream until they encounter a tumor and adhere to it, then release the drug, radiation, or other prescribed chemotherapy. The empty nanobot shell breaks down to its components and is no longer detectable in the blood stream.” She looked up him, expectantly. Why wasn’t he paying closer attention to her presentation? Quickly, he asked the first question that came to mind, even though she had already answered it. 

“Is this technology more effective than conventional treatments?” He watched as she took a deep breath, and slowly let it out again, wishing he could do something to make her more comfortable. 

“The nanobots deliver chemotherapy to cancerous masses that haven't metastasized, allowing earlier treatment. Bots also remain in the blood stream searching for cancer to adhere to, at which point they can be removed via screening. We can tell how effective the treatment is by monitoring the nanobot levels afterward. Additionally, circulating tumor cells, if there are any, can be monitored in tandem.” 

“Maybe there’s something I can do to make her more comfortable.” He thought, while creating a question queue so he wouldn’t be caught blankly staring at her again. Going back to actively observing her, he asked the next question. “What triggers the nanobot to release its contents?” 

She paused for few moments, her eyes quickly glancing from his right cheek to his chin before back to his eyes. “Most bots open when tumor antigens are detected. We have another type that is time released for non-specific chemotherapy”. 

He fought to keep his smile the same, but couldn’t help the lump that formed in his throat when she let herself admire him. He asked the next question on his queue. “How does the screening work?” He needed to stop staring at her again, and looked down to her tablet while quietly clearing his throat. 

“It’s done by running a patient's blood through a filter specifically designed to attract and bond to the contents of the nanobots still in the blood stream. For example, if the bots released into the blood stream are carrying pharmaceutical chemotherapy, that drug is attracted to the walls of the filter.” She paused and he could tell she was looking over at him even though he was facing the tablet. He kept examining the slide longer than he needed to, wanting to give her a chance to fully appreciate whatever about him was keeping her attention. 

Looking up he instantly met her eyes and forgot what was the next question on his queue. Quickly searching, he asked, “How do you filter a person’s blood? How long does it take to filter the amount of blood an average human or android has?” Bridget gave him a slightly confused look. He inwardly cursed, not wanting to confuse her, he should have asked those questions separately. 

“The patient is hooked up via iv to our instrument and the blood is removed, screened, and returned to the patient. Humans and androids both have about 10% of their weight in blood, about 10 units. That’s about 5 liters, or 1.3 gallons. The most through test filters and returns the blood three times over 2.5 hours. It’s about 1 hour for our quickest test. Standard 4 mL collection tubes take 30 minutes each.” 

He logged her statement and leaned closer to her, wanting to get more information. The scent of her shampoo, slightly masking the scent that was all hers. Her pupils were still dilated and her breathing shallower than normal. She had her hand clasped tightly on her tablet, a strong indication of nervousness. Her face was slightly flushed, and wasn’t keeping continuous eye contact with him. He wanted to lean in further and hold her to him with her forehead nestled to his neck, and help her calm down by rubbing between her shoulder blades until she wanted him to stop. For now, he struggled to keep his breathing steady, knowing he had to ask a key question but not thinking about how to phrase it. 

“Do you think you could design a filter to screen out nanobots without knowing any properties of the substance they contain? Assume the substance is toxic and absorbs when released so the main interest is removing the nanobots quickly and intact.” Bridget quickly realized what he was inadvertently implying and looked at him in shock. 

“Wait, poisoning people with nanobots.... who would even do that? What is this about?” She was shaking her head in disbelief, making it even more difficult for him to recover. 

“I can’t tell you right now.” Wonderful, now, he’s made her worry. Why was talking to her so difficult? He didn’t even have to say the second half of that statement to get an answer. He ran his hand over the back of his head in frustration. 

“I... You... mean a purely non-chemical filter? The bots we patented were created for chemotherapy delivery, and removal using attraction to the filter walls degrades the nanobot shell. But if we absolutely can’t use that method, a cascade could work.” 

“A cascade?” Connor wasn’t familiar with that term in association with nanobots or filters. He should probably start paying more attention to what she was saying and rely less on his increasingly unreliable question queue. 

“It's my old R&D project, theory being shape exclusion of nanobots removed with the live metastasize cells during one filtering session. The bots have irregular edges compared to a cell. Cascades are used to remove CTCs by not deforming them, keeping them alive for culture. After filtering, the blood is shunted to a second cascade where I designed the graduation steps to be just big enough to capture the nanobots without them being deformed and opening.... But currently we use a chemo-specific exclusion cassette to remove because I'm not concerned with the nanobots condition post filtering.” 

Connor quickly snapped his attention back to the case and away from letting her long, soft, reddish brown hair out of that hair tie. She was close to contributing significantly to the case. “How long would the nanobots remain viable after isolation on the cassette?” She shrugged slightly at him. 

“I honestly don’t know. I haven’t tried to preserve captured bots on the cassette, I didn’t go that route. Instead, I image the cassette and then flush them with preservation buffer into a reservoir. This preserves the nanobots and a sample can be taken to verify the cassette image.” 

“Wait,” he thought, “she can preserve intact nanobots? That’s everything we need!” There was just one issue he needed to work around. 

“How long do nanobots last in a blood sample?” He hoped it would be long enough to get samples to her. 

“Nanobots tend to coagulate in blood over 6 hours old.” That was too long. Even if they found a victim early enough, the logistics of getting a blood draw from forensics to her lab put it over the time limit. He saw an idea forming in her eyes as she looked away from him. 

“What’s your idea?” He fought the urge to push a stray lock of hair from her forehead. 

“I mean, if I get the closed nanobots isolated before they coagulate, I can use our lyse to open them and analysis the contents using a chromatography instrument, maybe GC/MS or HPLC.” So, she knows how to isolate intact and preserve nanobots so long as the blood wasn’t older than 6 hours. It was possible to do, but she had to be extremely willing to work with them. Feeling slightly dishonest, he accessed what Hank called his “puppy dog protocol”. A notification popped up on the tablet they were looking at, reminding him of something Hank would say. 

_Dr. Liza: Wrap it up, you two, talk another time!_

He watched her laugh a bit as well, glad to know Dr. Liz had her back. He looked over at her, thinking again how her hair must feel if he could run his fingers through it, flowing around her shoulders. He looked down for a moment to focus; he needed to ask her just right. 

“Can I call you? I mean, can we….call you?” She looked at him, raising an eyebrow in amusement. Maybe he could still recover. “We need you to draw samples at crime scenes, since having them analyzed with you makes sense. Our forensics lab isn’t equipped for nanobot screening and if forensic did the draw, the samples would take longer for them to get them to you than if you did it yourself. You should know though; I can’t say when we will get calls. Some may be in the middle of the night.” He paused, knowing he was speaking too quickly and really hoping she would be amiable. 

“That won’t be a problem, I’m happy to help.” Connor couldn’t believe it; she was actually alright with this? Trying not to grin, he stood up with her. 

“Good.” Connor said, satisfied with his recovery. “I’ll see you again soon.” He smiled and went out her office door, looking back to see her leaning on the door frame, arms crossed in front of her, showing off the curve of her waist into her hip. He resisted the urge to wave and just smirked at her slightly before heading back to Hank. 

\---- 

Hank examined him closely when they got out to the parking lot. Connor was zoned out with his thoughts and took a few moments to notice. 

“What?” He asked, genuinely curious. 

“How did it go, Casanova?” Connor quickly searched for the name, and blushed, finding the reference. 

“I don’t quite understand that reference.” He was annoyed; fairly sure he got through the entire conversation without being inappropriate. 

“Don’t play dumb. Did you ask her out?” Hank didn’t look at him, but Connor knew he was grinning. 

Connor glanced at him, annoyed. “It didn’t seem quite appropriate at the time.” 

“Did you at least ask for her tablet number? Or her email?” 

He let out a frustrated breath. “No, because I can get those from our records.” 

Hank rolled his eyes. “You’re such an idiot.” Connor was surprised, not sure what Hank meant. Hank looked away, shaking his head. “Did you at least find out if she would work with us?” 

“Yes, she said she was happy to help.” He said proudly, happy to have accomplished some of his mission... objective. 

“Really? She’s happy for you to call at any hour of the night and be dragged out of her bed to do a blood analysis for you?” He raised an eyebrow and looked doubtfully at Connor. 

“Us, Lieutenant. She’s happy to help us.” Connor wasn’t sure what to else to say, and kept walking toward the car. Hank punched his arm, making him jump in surprise. 

“You really are an idiot. I bet you that stupid quarter you carry everywhere she’s watching you right now.” Connor unconsciously smoothed his hair back. Hank laughed as they got in his car. 

“Well, I’m not the one who’s calling her. You are.” 

Connor wasn’t sure how to respond. “But that’s...I mean...I’m not...Isn’t that...” Hank just grinned while putting the car in gear. 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Life Continues](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28888767) by [Parallel_Deviation](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parallel_Deviation/pseuds/Parallel_Deviation)
  * [The More Things Change](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29232399) by [Parallel_Deviation](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parallel_Deviation/pseuds/Parallel_Deviation)




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